Our First Christmas
by EAlove
Summary: Rose and the Doctor have their very first Christmas together. Nine/Rose. Fluff. Oneshot.


**Hello everyone! To those who follow me, I'll update my stories soon, so do not worry!  
****Anyway, this is my very first Doctor Who fanfiction. Nine/Rose because this is their first Christmas, and anyway I love them. I hope I did them justice, but if you have any advice for me to follow to improve my writing, please don't hesitate to send me a message!  
This story takes place somewhere after The Aliens of London, and definitely before The Empty Child.  
Well that's it, I hope you enjoy!  
**

**Our first Christmas**

On a planet, far away from Earth, a man and a woman were running for their lives. Quite literally. If they were caught they'd be sentenced to death. The man had broad shoulders, short cropped black hair, and his icy blue eyes had a twinkle of amusement in them. The woman, however, had shoulder-length blond hair and kind brown eyes. She was grinning madly while running, hand in hand with the man besides her. If you didn't know better, you could have thought they were just running for the fun of it, and not trying to escape an army of angry aliens.

"- And that were your diplomatic ways?," cried the woman into the wind. "Blimey, I'm never letting you talk first!" They were running faster and faster, a big blue telephone box coming into view. The TARDIS, it was; and they were very glad to see it.

"- Not me fault if not bowing is considered as a crime here!," the man replied, through his grin.

They had finally reached the box, and the man hastily reached for the key in his pocket to open the doors. He let the woman enter first, and with a wave to the aliens chasing after them, he closed the door.

"- And you think you're so impressive!," the blond tried to catch her breath, grinning at the man who had his back against the door, also quite short of breath.

"- I _am_ so impressive!," he replied as if vexed. They looked at each other for a moment, and exploded into laughter. The sound of their laughter filled the console room; a room lightened by bright yellow lights, and a white column in the center. The woman then took a step forward to the man and hugged him, pressing her nose against his chest.

"- I'm glad we're alive, Doctor," she said, her voice slightly muffled. The man hesitated a second before returning the hug, and the look of surprise on his face softened as he spoke, "Yeah, me too, Rose." He could feel his companion smiling against him, and couldn't stop his own smile making its way to his lips.

Rose let go of the Doctor. "Right, time for a shower and a good nap, yeah?" Without waiting for an answer, she kissed the Doctor's cheek and quickly made her way out of the room. She didn't see the Doctor touching his cheek where her lips touched him, nor did she see his smile.

Rose walked along the corridors towards her room; mind you, with a little help of the TARDIS, otherwise she'd be quickly lost. She was starting to know her way through the ship, but not enough to walk without its help. Rose put the palm of her hand against one of the walls before saying out loud a quick 'thanks' to the ship. The lights brightened for a moment, and Rose smiled.

Once in her room, she picked a pair of jimjams, and went to take a shower.

With her hair still a bit damp, Rose sat on her bed, and picked up the calendar she had brought with her the last time she'd seen her mother. She frowned slightly at the date, it was the 24th of December. Tomorrow was Christmas, and neither her or the Doctor had mentioned it. But she wasn't going to let it go, she wanted her Christmas; after all she had missed one since the Doctor had landed her home one year later. Rose slipped under the covers, a smile on her lips, and her mind racing with all the possibilities of the day after.

Back in the console room, the Doctor was working on the wires of the TARDIS, with absolutely no idea of what was waiting for him once his companion would be awake...

The Doctor woke up with a start- no wait, he wasn't sleeping. He had merely closed his eyes. But something else took his thoughts away. A figure was standing over him, watching him with a pair of very amused brown eyes.

"- Did you just sleep here?" He could _hear_ the smile in her voice. "Not really comfortable, is it?"

The Doctor shook his head and sat up. "I'll have you know, Time Lords don't sleep-"

"- Superior biology, I know." Rose rolled her eyes but smiled, and held out a hand to help him stand up. She grinned at him, tongue in between her teeth. The smile that could make the Time Lord act like, well, one of those stupid apes.

"- What is it?," he asked, brows furrowed, and arms crossed defensively.

"Do you know what day it is, today?"

"There's no time in the TARDIS, so it's not-"

"Doctor, really," Rose cut him in the middle of his sentence once again. "It's Christmas!"

The Doctor stared at her as if she'd grown another head. "Oh no. No, we're not celebrating, or doing anything, no. Domestics are outside." He frowned down at her. He thought he had explained it well that he wouldn't do things like that. But Rose had other plans. She grabbed his arm and pleaded him, "Please Doctor, it's Christmas, come on!"

Still the Doctor didn't move, and didn't change his answer. Rose decided to try with more arguments. "I missed Christmas last year because of you," she pouted. The Doctor would have smiled at her antics, if it had been another time. But he did have landed her a year later, and it had brought trouble to her. Rose saw a spark of guilt in the Time Lord's eyes, and wondered if she had been too far. She didn't blame the Doctor for what happened the last time they went to visit her mother, she liked every and each one of their adventures. And if she was being honest, what happened in Downing Street had brought them a little closer.

" Doctor, I-," she started, slightly letting go of the Doctor's arm.

" It's alrigh'," he stopped her. "Christmas it is, then!," he threw a toothy grin in her direction and ran to the console. He spun around, pushing buttons or pulling levers like a madman. Rose was still worried she had been too far, but she'd have to talk to the Doctor about this later. Right now she was more worried about holding onto the walls and not falling during the bumpy ride.

"Where are we going?," she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Let's not spoil the surprise!," he yelled back, holding onto the console. The ride was short, but as bumpy as always. Once the TARDIS stopped with her characteristic sound, Rose and the Doctor both fell on the grating floor.

"You alright?," he asked her, still grinning. He heard her reply from the other side of the room, "Yep! So, where are we?" Rose was now up, and bouncing towards the door.

"Oi, wait a tick here, I suggest you put something warmer before goin' out," he said, crossing his arms but grinning. Rose answered him with a bigger grin, and ran out of the room, towards the wardrobe.

It didn't take long to Rose to find some warmer clothes, boots, gloves and a scarf. She took a last look at herself in the mirror, and ran back to the console room, where the Doctor was waiting for her. "Ready?," he asked her. "Oh yes," she said and ran to open the doors.

She had seen a lot of planets, well, not as many as the Doctor, but that was still a lot. But what was before her was something she'd never seen, something terrifying and beautiful all the same. Everywhere she looked, she could only see ice and snow. She was careful with keeping her balance as she took some steps out of the TARDIS. The night sky was being reflected on the ice , making it seem like stars were captured beneath her feet. Her mouth was slightly open and her eyes were wide when she saw, not so far from the TARDIS, what would have been an ocean. A large, thick layer of ice, as far as she could see, and what was the most amazing, waves. More precisely, _frozen_ waves. Some of them were as high as the TARDIS, some smaller, but the sight was still the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She heard footsteps behind her, and without turning around she asked, "Are those..." She didn't have to finish her sentence, the Doctor could read her face, it was too easy. He smiled at her. He really would always love that look on her face, when she discovered something new.

"Yes, frozen waves," he nodded though she couldn't see him. "There was a storm, and everything froze," he answered her unspoken question. "This planet is called Woman Wept, because, if you look at it from space, you can see the form of a woman weeping," he added.

"This is beautiful, Doctor, thank you for bringing me here," she finally did turn around, only to find the Doctor really close to her. She didn't mind in the slightest. She grinned and hugged him briefly before taking a few more steps on the ice. She turned around giggling. The Doctor smiled, maybe Christmas and domestics weren't so bad. When Rose was here. But a cry stopped his thoughts. He ran over to where Rose had fallen on the ice. Only to find her laughing harder.

"You alrigh'?," he asked her, though he knew the answer. When Rose confirmed that she was fine, he grinned. "Wait here!," and he ran to the TARDIS. Rose was left confused but she shrugged and got up to explore a bit more. She was on a new planet after all, she wasn't going to just stand here!

The trees were just as frozen as the waves, and the sight of each leaf reflecting the light of the moon was simply beautiful. She stayed there for a few minutes, a smile on her lips. Until she heard the Doctor behind her. She turned around and saw him, a pair of ice skates in hand, another already attached to his feet. He was pretty good too, and if Rose was being honest with herself, she took a good few seconds to admire his lean body moving towards her.

"These are for you," he held out the pair of skates. She took them with a grin, and put them on, with the help of the Doctor so she wouldn't fall.

Once she was ready, she turned around and took a few hesitant steps. "I haven't ice skated in such a long while, I'm surprised I can still stand up with those!," she laughed. And her laughter was contageous because the Doctor followed her in her laughter. "Well then," he said, "See if you can race me!" And he was gone.

"Cheater!," Rose yelled after him, and did her best to keep up, but she had no chance on winning. The Doctor had gone in direction of the waves, and was waiting for her. Rose wasn't quite controlling her speed, and the waves made it difficult for her to keep going straight. She had almost joined the Doctor when she completely lost her balance. Her arms were waggling around, trying to catch back her balance, but the Doctor finally arrived and grabbed her arms, steadying her.

"Thanks," she said. But the Doctor exploded into laughter, keeping his hands on her shoulders. "Oi, don't laugh, it's your fault!," she pouted, sending the Doctor into another wave of laughter. She couldn't keep her face straight either, seeing him laugh, a genuine laugh, was definitely the best thing. She laughed too, until they both had tears at the corner of their eyes.

"Thanks," the Doctor said, a smile lingering on his lips. He hadn't laughed that much in such a long time that he had tought he had forgotten how to laugh as well. He hadn't been so happy since the Time War. Rose Tyler was definitely something else.

"For what?," came her confused reply. But the Doctor just smiled at her and kissed her forhead. Then he ran away, skating on the ice as if he was flying. Rose was left even more confused, but she still went back to skating with him. She was just happy, and she knew he was too, nothing could come and cloud their hearts.

They had been skating for two hours, Rose had improved and raced him a few times. But she was starting to feel a bit cold, and she shivered. The Doctor noticed and raised a brow.

"Wanna come back to the TARDIS?," he asked her. They had stayed outside for a long while after all, and Rose was a human. More fragile biology, he had to remind himself sometimes.

"Yeah," she looked at her gloved but cold hands and smiled sheepishly. The Doctor took her hand into his own and started to skate back to the TARDIS with Rose. "Aren't you ever cold?," she looked at him, though she could guess his answer already.

"Nope, superior biology, remember?," he grinned. Rose would have won the bet.

Once they were back to the TARDIS, they got out of their skates, and Rose took her gloves, coat and scarf off. She sat on the captain chair, near the console, her legs crossed. The Doctor came to join her on the chair with a sigh.

"See, Christmas is fun, yeah?," she turned to look at him and smiled. He was adorable, slumped on the seat, slightly tired, his cheeks a bit pink due to the cold and a smile on his lips.

"Only when you're here," he said. Rose's eyes widened, and she unconsciously waited for the 'considering' comment that would always follow such a statement from the Doctor. But it didn't come. She smiled, a sweet smile that reached her eyes, a smile that contained all the love that was growing for the Time Lord in front of her. The Doctor answered her smile with one of his own.

Rose broke the silence after a few moments. "Oh yeah, I got you sometin', Doctor," she picked something from her pocket. It was a little blue bag, the size of her palm, with a golden ribbon. "It's not much, but I hope you like it."

The Doctor took the present. "You didn't have to, I didn't even know it was Christmas, and I've got nothing for you," he trailed off. Rose just smiled at him, unsurprised.

"It's OK, Doctor, you've already given me the perfect gift," she smiled, her tongue poking out. "I can travel all of time and space with you! And I've gotta say, I love it." Her tone was more serious by the end of her sentence. She really meant it, she loved visiting new planets, discovering new things, she even loved the trouble! But most of all, she loved the Time Lord.

"Rose, I-"

"Open your gift, will you?"

The Doctor complied. He didn't understand how travelling with _him_ could be a gift. Of course he loved travelling with her, but himself? He wasn't a gift, he was a murderer, a broken man. He shook the thoughts away. He slowly pulled on the ribbon, and opened the bag. Inside was a thin golden chain. He picked it out of the bag, to reveal the figure of a little wolf howling, also made of gold. He contemplated it, really it was beautiful. He already loved it, just like the woman sitting next to him. Wait-

"Uhm, if you don't like it, I can-" Rose had taken his silence the wrong way. After all it had been really difficult to find something for the Time Lord, maybe he didn't like necklaces.

"No, no, no!," the Doctor cut her quickly. "It's really nice, I..." he looked at her, her big brown eyes staring into his soul, piercing him through both his hearts. "I love it," he gulped.

"Really?," she asked, hope and joy filling her eyes.

"Yes," he breathed. "Thank you."

"I'm glad then." She smiled at him, and he returned her smile again. She leaned against his shoulder, in a more comfortable position. They stayed in comfortable silence for Rasillion knows how long, but neither of them wanted to move. Finally, Rose's tired voice broke the silence.

"Merry Christmas, Doctor."

The Doctor looked down at her, and saw her closing her eyes. He suppressed a laugh at that. Rose, his beautiful Rose so strong, and brave, being so vulnerable was quite a sight. He kissed her forehead, "Merry Christmas to you, too, Rose."

Unknown to Rose, the Doctor always kept the necklace in the inside pocket of his leather jacket. That's where he kept the psychic paper and his TARDIS key. So he was sure to always have it with himself, wherever he would go.

Sometimes he felt guilty for not giving her a proper present on that day. Sometimes he thought that maybe he could break his own rules and cross Rose's timeline and go back in time to give her a present. And when he thought of it, hadn't he seen a red bicycle somewhere in the TARDIS?


End file.
